Newbie Here With Allergy Question

[ladybird01]

Hello everyone. I am new to the group. I have read through a lot of the discussions but can't seem to find an answer. In September I bought my daughter 2 GP's. We also had a rabbit we brought into the house for the winter time here. His very first time indoors. So in November I started wheezing. After a month I was diagnosed with Asthma. Which I have never had an allergies at all in my entire lifetime that I'm aware of. The rabbit went back outside but I continued to wheeze. I was doing all of the cage cleaning, etc. After awhile I told my daughter she would have to do all the work now. The Gp's are in here bedroom upstairs. I do not go into her room anymore. My question here is can I still be having an allergic reaction even though I am not around them. Does the allergen attach itself to her skin, clothes, hair etc? I really don't want to find them a new home. I am having allergy testing done in a few weeks but this wheezing, etc is quite nerve wrecking to me. Especially when my chest feels tight. I refuse to take inhaled steroids, they were making me sick. I don't get any other symptoms. No sneezing, no watery eyes, no sinus problems. Just wheezing, mild mucus, etc. I really hope someone can shed some light on this situation or have similar symptoms as I. Hopefully I can find a way to work around this. Thanks again. I appreciate all your responses.

 

[MerryPip]

I am no doctor but I do have a few suggestions...

Quite often people with allergies are actually allergic to hay/grass or bedding rather than the piggies or rabbits themselves. So trying something different might help.

Some people do have allergies to pets and these are often to hair/fur and or the skin or dander that the animal produces. It will depend on the sensitivity of your allergy as to whether fur or hair on clothes etc. affects you or not. Your allergy would need to be fairly bad for that to be an issue. Certain fur types are also thought to cause more problems than others. Getting someone else to do the cage cleaning and any handling of the animals is a good idea. Perhaps wearing a mask when dealing with anything risky might reduce the chance of you inhaling things that bother you too.. Changing clothes and washing hands after being around them will help too.

It may also be that your asthma is completely unrelated to the rabbit or guinea pigs but that sounds unlikely because it is less common for adults to spontaneously develop asthma without some sort of external factor, mine is mould... after living in two damp flats I worked that one out! Since I moved into a dry house I've had no problem and not needed any more treatment.

If inhalers don't suit you then please, please go and speak to your doctor about alternatives. There are many options fro treating asthma and it is important it is under control and not damaging your lungs. People think 'oh it's just asthma' but it can cause serious problems and kill. (I'm not trying to terrify you, I just want you to know that it's important )

 

[AuntyC]

Hi there. I am asthmatic and have been for many years! I foster guinea pigs for the rspca, so sometimes I have some and sometimes I don't depending on situation. As we have a small house they live indoors in the lounge. It is not the actual piggies that cause me any problems, it's the hay! Which of course they have in plentiful supply. As I have taken inhalers for many years( a full blown asthma attack is not pleasant!) I get by with taking an oral antihistsmine to avoid any extra problem with my lungs.

 

[ladybird01]

Thank you so much for your replies. This is all so new to me. I live on a homestead with lots of animals. We've had our rabbit for 10 years. I've cleaned his pen a billion times. Which is just odd that I would get Asthma out of the blue. I am currently using homeopathic ways to treat the Asthma. Some-days are great, some days I have way more wheezing. Which is why I just feel the allergen must be floating in the air. Should I put an air purifier in her room. I think I'm just scarred of it getting worse and not really knowing how or what to do.